Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 14:21-27 | They called the Church together and reported what God had done with them.

Paul and Barnabas went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.

Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13 | I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King. or Alleluia!

  The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

  How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King. or Alleluia!

  All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

  They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God,

  to make known to men your mighty deeds

  and the glorious splendour of your reign.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King. or Alleluia!

  Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

  your rule lasts from age to age.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King. or Alleluia!

Apocalypse 21:1-5a | God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’

I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord.

John 13:34

John 13:31-33a, 34-35 | I give you a new commandment: love one another.

When Judas had gone Jesus said: ‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon. ‘My little children, I shall not be with you much longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

Scripture readings taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, and used by permission of the publishers